Light gauge steel web-stud member

ABSTRACT

A light gauge steel stud with a web shaped cross-sectional profile. This profile gives the stud the ability to withstand higher axial loads than current industry standard C-channel designs. The web shaped profile also exhibits higher resistance to buckling than current industry standards.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] Light Gauge Cold-Formed Steel Studs are presently in wide use within the world as a replacement to wood studs used in the construction of walls, for both load bearing and non-load bearing applications. Light Gauge Steel Studs are resistant to insects, like termites, and will not decay under environmental adversity, like water damage, if properly coated with G90 or other standard galvanized coatings. They also have a more predictable strength characteristic than wood studs. With the simple cold-formed configuration of standard C-channel stud, where the cross-section is uniform throughout its length, problems can arise if large axial loads are placed on the stud. The resulting compressive load, if the base of the stud is attached to a concrete floor or other incompressible surface, can result in lateral buckling in intermediate locations. The Web-Stud Member reduces this buckling factor due to it's web profile and the ability to withstand higher axial loads than current standard C-channel steel studs using the same gauge of steel. [Survey of the Prior Art has yielded the following U.S. patents] U.S. Pat. No. 559,335 Issued on Apr. 28, 1896 to Kindl U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,930 Issued on Apr. 5, 1966 to Sowinski U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,020 Issued on Apr. 19, 1977 to Sauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,098 Issued on Oct. 28, 1986 to Taylor U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,883 Issued on Oct. 27, 1992 to Meyer U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,848 Issued on Aug. 15, 1995 to Deffet U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,041 Issued on Jul. 27, 1999 to Sedlmeier

[0002] Other references discovered during the survey of the prior art have yielded the two large companies, that manufacture C-channel light gauge steel studs, and two nonprofit organizations that support the industry. All of the listed CD-ROMs and internet web sites where used in the survey. [Additional References to Prior Art] Unimast Incorporated; www.unimast.com 4825 Scott Street, Suite 300; Schiller Park, IL 60176 Dietrich Industries, Inc.; www.dietrichindustries.com 500 Grant Street, Suite 2226; Pittsburg, PA 15219 North American Steel www.steelframingalliance.com, Steel Framing Alliance; 1726 M Framing Resourses CD-ROM, Low-Rise Street NW, Suite 601; Residential Construction Details CD-ROM Washington, DC 20036- 4523 Light Gauge Steel www.lgsea.com Engineering Association; 1726 M Street NW, Suite 601; Washington, DC 20036-4523

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0003]FIG. 1: General Web-Stud Member as a 3-D extruded section.

[0004]FIG. 2: General profile(cross-section) of the Web-Stud Member.

[0005]FIG. 3: Comparison of Fully Braced Compression Strength of the Web-Stud Member and the Industry Standard C-Channel Stud. This analysis was calculated using the LRFD Analysis Method and the CFSLT Version 3.52 Software developed by RSG Software, Inc. This program is a general purpose cold-formed steel component design tool that performs calculations in accordance with the AISI Cold-Formed Steel Specification, 1996 edition—Supplement 1 and the ASCE Cold-Formed Stainless Steel Specification, 1990 edition. The plot was created with Mathcad 5.0 software.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] The Light Gauge Steel Web-Stud Member is related to the current use of steel studs for residential and light commercial construction. This type of material is more resistant to termites and other pests and has more consistent structural properties than wood. The Web-Stud Member is manufactured by a cold-forming process to insure the proper structural profile(FIG. 2). The physical structure of the member is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and is as follows: The top surface (FIG. 1-1) is cold-formed at 90 degrees (FIG. 1-2) to the lateral surface (FIG. 1-3), which is the edge of the web member (FIG. 2-A). The bottom surface of the member (FIG. 1-4) is cold-formed at 90 degrees to the edge surface (FIG. 1-3). The interior web surface of the web member (FIG. 1-5) is cold-formed at an angle (FIG. 2-D) that insures the proper overall width of the web member (FIG. 2-B). The top surface of the member (FIG. 1-6) is cold-formed at an angle (FIG. 2-E) that insures the proper overall width of the member (FIG. 2-B). These cold-formed angles (FIG. 2-D & E) are critical to the overall member's width (FIG. 2-B) and have to be tightly controlled during the cold-forming process. The remaining structure is a mirror image, referenced at the center of the web member, as described above. 

1. The web-stud member will support higher vertical axial loads, using the same gauge of steel (FIG. 3), than the current state of the art c-channel light gauge steel studs because of it's web shaped profile (FIGS. 1 and 2).
 2. The importance of claim 1, is that the Web-Stud Member can support the same or similar vertical axial loads by using only approximately 11% more steel at a lighter gauge. This is an improvement over the industry standard C-channel studs at the same or similar load requirements.
 3. The ability to attach fasteners into both sides of the Web-Stud member increases the versatility over current state of the art C-channel stud.
 4. The importance of claim 3, is the Web-Stud Member can be used in the construction of shear walls and used as support members in standard roof trusses by allowing fasteners to be attached on both sides of the U-channel mounting track used in shear wall and roof truss designs.
 5. The physical dimensions C, F and G of the Web-Stud Member (FIG. 2) can be changed to increase or decrease the total width (FIG. 2-B). The physical dimension A and angles D and E can be change the depth (FIG. 2) of the web member. These change can be used to emulated the industry standard light gauge steel C-channel studs sizes, currently being used by the construction industry. 